Docket No: 3177-18 
Ref: Signature Date 

Dear : 
 
This letter is in reference to your application for correction of your naval record pursuant to Title 10, United States Code, Section 1552.  After careful and conscientious consideration of the entire record, the Board for Correction of Naval Records (Board) found the evidence submitted was insufficient to establish the existence of probable material error or injustice.  Consequently, your application has been denied. 
 
Although your application was not filed in a timely manner, the Board found it in the interest of justice to waive the statute of limitations and consider your application on its merits.  A three-member panel of the Board, sitting in executive session, considered your application on 5 June 2019.  The names and votes of the members of the panel will be furnished upon request.  Your allegations of error and injustice were reviewed in accordance with administrative regulations and procedures applicable to the proceedings of this Board.  Documentary material considered by the Board consisted of your application, together with all material submitted in support thereof, relevant portions of your naval record, as well as applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. 
 
You enlisted in the Navy and began a period of active duty on 27 December 1967.  On 25 March 1968, in accordance with your pleas of guilty, you were convicted by special court-martial (SPCM) of three specifications of unauthorized absence totaling 28 days and breaking restriction.  On 22 August 1968, in accordance with your pleas of guilty, you were convicted by a second SPCM of another unauthorized absence totaling 34 days.  You were awarded as punishment, confinement, forfeitures of pay, and to be discharged from the naval service with a bad conduct discharge (BCD).  After the BCD was approved at all levels of review, you were discharged on 6 December 1968. 
 
The Board carefully weighed all potentially mitigating factors in your case, including your desire to upgrade your discharge.  The Board also considered your contentions that you enlisted under age without permission, that your parent’s signature was not valid, that you were never afforded the opportunity to explain any of your actions, and that you were “beaten and treated very badly while in custody.”  The Board has no authority to set aside a court-martial conviction and must limit its review to determining whether the sentence should be modified as a matter of clemency.  The Board determined that no clemency is warranted in your case.  In this regard, the Board considered your contentions, but concluded that the severity of your misconduct, which resulted in two SPCM convictions by guilty plea and your subsequent BCD, outweighed your desire to upgrade your discharge.  Regarding your purported underage enlistment, the Board noted that there was no evidence in your record, and you did not provide any, to support your contention that your parent’s signature was not valid.  The Board also noted that upon your enlistment you were 18 years of age as your birth date preceded your enlistment into the Navy.  Under the totality of the circumstances, the Board in its review discerned no probable material error or injustice in your discharge. 
 
It is regretted that the circumstances of your case are such that favorable action cannot be taken.  You are entitled to have the Board reconsider its decision upon submission of new matters.  New matters are those not previously presented to or considered by the Board.  In this regard, it is important to keep in mind that a presumption of regularity attaches to all official records.  Consequently, when applying for a correction of an official naval record, the burden is on the applicant to demonstrate the existence of probable material error or injustice. 
 
 Sincerely,